My Trails

June 29th – Pen Mar Park, PA
“The only thing we have to fear is fear itself”  FDR

I agree with that quote but I’d also like to give honorable mention to bears, snakes, and disappearing food bags.  The one thought that has me most nervous about our 55+ mile adventure  is this…that I will be the Katz to Dad and Nate’s Bryson.  I’m about to head into the wilderness with my uber hiking machine of a father and a super fit 17 year old.  I’m hoping that at some point during the hike they won’t look back (way back) and find me trudging along, wilted from the heat, with my backpack empty because I pitched everything in order to lighten my load.  🙂

Despite the risk of being the weakest link, I’m truly looking forward to spending time on the AT with my dad and my son. One of the best things about backpacking is the time you get to spend together free from distractions of every day life…well, other than trying to stay alive out in the wilderness. Haha. I’m also looking forward to meeting some of the folks who have become like family to my dad over the past few weeks.

Tomorrow morning Nate and I will meet dad on the trail to join in his quest to follow the white blazes. 

 **footnote- Katz and Bryson reference is from “A walk in the woods” by Bill Bryson. If you’ve ever spent time in the woods with my dad…you’d know he can quote it by heart.  :)Karen Meehan

6/27/12 – 1028 miles
Trust is one of the major attributed connected to the AT. I have never worried about a thruhiker taking any of my things or mistreating me in any way. Every once in a while something happens on the trail to remind us that, even though our community of hikers is strong, we are not completely isolated from the sad part of the real world.

I arrived at Crampton Gap Shelter at about 5:00 pm and picked out a site to set up my tent. There was no one at the shelter when I arrived so I walked down to check it out. I should have sensed something was wrong when I noticed there was no logbook anywhere to be found. Logbooks not only record the whereabouts of past hikers but also alert new hikers of any problem at the shelter. I didn’t think to much about it and went back to my tent, just out of site of the shelter and fixed dinner. When I was done eating, I packed all my food, stove and pots, and my first aid kit, into a large bag, and went back to the shelter to hang it on the bear pole.

Early the next morning, I walked down to the shelter to retrieve my bag and noticed it was no longer hanging from the pole. My first though was that this is a joke and someone got it down by mistake. I walked to the shelter to question the occupant that had arrived sometime after I retired to my tent the night before. The answers to my questions were evasive, guilt ridden, and moronic.

I got the impression that he was probably homeless and spends much of his time living in shelters just out of town. I talked to two other tent campers in the area that told me there was a family staying in the shelter also, but that they left early because this guy was so creepy. There wasn’t much I could do without pulling him out of the shelter and going through his stuff – which I felt like doing – so I called Karen, told her what had happened and packed up to leave. In hind sight I should have stayed until the Park Rangers got there to question the man, but I was sure he had hidden the bag or that the rangers would treat it as food lost to animals.

Karen almost immediately called the Park Rangers but I was five miles north by the time they reached me by phone. I can’t say enough about the Maryland Park Rangers. They sent rangers up to the shelter and questioned any hiker they passed on the way. By the time they reached the shelter, the man was gone. I couldn’t give them much of a description because the shelter was dark and the guy seemed to be hiding in the corner.

I should have stayed there until the rangers came, but it’s a good thing I didn’t confront the idiot. Robo, a thruhiker and retired cop, said an unstable person like that could have a knife or anything.

I’m not going to let this occupy my thoughts but you can bet I will be more careful. It reminds you that there are a few creeps out there even on the AT. I worry at times for some of the girls hitchhiking into town and hope they always think about being safe.

This is the part that makes me tear up. Every thruhikers I met and told my story to wanted to give me food. Hikers know how important our supplies are to us – they are our survival. Thank you Orion, Apache, Robo and Tink, and especially Blue Sky. I hope someday I can do something for you.

6/26/12 – 1028 miles
I left Harpers Ferry about 10:00 am, crossed the Potomac River, and walked the C&O Canal Towpath into Maryland. Blue Sky was on the motel computer as I left and told me he would be along soon. I had a short day planned so I walked along slowly enjoying the morning. Shortly, I came upon a cyclists stopped by the path eating some berries off a tree. I asked him about them and learned they were mulberrys. I tried a few and studied the tree so that I could recognize them again. They were quite tasty.

The trail for the next 100 miles will be familiar to me. It is the section where Karen and I have done all our AT hikes the last few years. Even though I’ve walked through here before, it still looks different. There is always something new to see. The advantage I have over other hikers is knowing where the good water sources are and having the correct change for a coveted, hidden soda machine.

There are a few hikers doing the “four state challenge” where you start at the border in VA, hike through WV, MD, and cross just into PA, a distance of 46 miles, and you have to complete it in one day. I think they were going to start at midnight. You can probably imagine that they are all young guys.

6/25/12 – 1017 miles
One thousand miles. Two and a half million steps. Its amazing what the human body can do.

I was up first at the hostel and made myself coffee and pancakes. It was 21 miles into Harpers Ferry but I knew I could make it easily. I was almost past the roller coaster and the next section of trail was mostly flat. The hiking went well and I only stopped for lunch, a blueberry bush, and a picture of the 1000 mile marker. It was about 4:00 pm when descended Loudoun Heights, crossed over the Shenandoah River and entered Harpers Ferry, WV.

Harpers Ferry is home to the Appalachian Trail Conservancy, headquarters for the trail, and the psychological half-way point for hikers. At the ATC you sign a register, get your picture taken, and are assigned a number in the list of thruhikers. I am number 669.

Tonight I am staying at the Econo Lodge and will head out tomorrow. I met Blue Sky after I checked in – he is at the same motel – and we walked downtown for dinner and ice cream. I enjoy a relaxing rest at a motel every once in a while but the motels keep getting more expense as I travel further north. I may have to lengthen my motel intervals. Nah!

6/24/12 – 997 miles
You may not believe this but I swear it’s true. There are pop-up rocks on the trail. Most of the time they lay flat on the ground, but just as you step over them, they pop up, catch your toe and send you into an uncontrolled, stumbling run down the trail. I’m pretty sure I heard one of them snickering as I finally caught my balance and turned in disbelief.

I’m staying at the Bears Den Hostel tonight. They have a hiker special that includes bed, shower, laundry, pizza, ice cream, soda, and pancakes in the morning, all for $30. There are four other hikers here so the oven is kept busy.

The worst thing about the roller coaster section of trail is the rocks. I didn’t mind the hills – I’m used to those – but the rocks make the trail an obstacle course. My feet hurt at the end of the day.

I stepped on a scale at the hostel and found that I’m down to 170 pounds, a loss of 35 pounds since the start. I have to figure some way to stop loosing weight. Eventually, it will start to deteriorate my muscles and rob my energy. That’s the dilemma with burning 5000 calories a day.